1. Field of the Invention
The subject matter disclosed generally relates to the field of robotics.
2. Background Information
Robots have been used in a variety of applications ranging from remote control of hazardous material to assisting in the performance of surgery. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,762,458 issued to Wang et al. discloses a system that allows a surgeon to perform minimally invasive medical procedures through the use of robotically controlled instruments. One of the robotic arms in the Wang system moves an endoscope that has a camera. The camera allows a surgeon to view a surgical area of a patient.
There has been marketed a tele-presence mobile robot introduced by InTouch Technologies, Inc., the assignee of this application, under the trademark RP-7. The InTouch robot is controlled by a user at a remote station. The remote station may be a personal computer with a joystick that allows the user to remotely control the movement of the robot. Both the robot and remote station have cameras, monitors, speakers and microphones to allow for two-way video/audio communication. The robot camera provides video images to a screen at the remote station so that the user can view the robot's surroundings and move the robot accordingly.
The InTouch robot system can be used to access any number of robots from different remote locations. For example, a hospital facility may have a number of tele-presence robots that are accessible from different remote computer stations. A physician can become connected to a robot by merely logging on through a laptop or personal computer. As the number of in-field InTouch tele-presence robots grows, it is desirable to set and edit the connectivity between various remote control stations and different robots. It is also desirable to provide a means to control the parameters of the connectivity. For example, it may be desirable to control connectivity so that multiple remote control stations can receive the audio/video provided by the robot. It may be desirable to restrict the audio and/or video provided to one or more remote control stations. It may also be desirable to establish a time window of connectivity between control stations and robots.